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“Whoa.” Figgy stared at the clever trap laid for Cookie.
“Yes. Whoa, indeed,” Cookie said grimly. “I told you. Her behavior is atrocious. She is sly and sneaky and she’s been laying traps for me since day one!”
Pixie and Glitter carefully tip-toed around the large mound of cake and treats. On first glance, it looked innocent and tempting. Piles and piles of sweet treats. Enough to tempt any elf. Sugar cubes, chocolate, sprinkles and a large bottle of maple syrup at the very top.
“But she made a mistake this time,” said Cookie with satisfaction.
“She did?” asked Pixie.
“Yep,” he pointed to the bottle of syrup. “That syrup is NOT the right grade.”
Figgy peered closer at the bottle. “But, it’s grade A. That’s the best, isn’t it?”
Cookie looked imperiously at Figgy. “Any elf worth his sugar knows that grade B is, in every way, superior to grade A.”
Figgy glared at Cookie. “Oh no it isn’t! Grade A is the best!” He looked and Pixie to back him up, but she was distracted by the string attached to the cap of the syrup bottle.
“Now you listen here, Figgy. Grade B is better! It’s darker in color and much more flavorful!”
“But, Grade A is lighter, crisper—“.
“Grade A has no depth of flavor, no time soak up all that maple taste. It’s taken from the tree too early!”
Figgy opened and closed his mouth, flabbergasted. Grade B, better? Ludicrous.
Glitter stomped her hooves, interrupting what was clearly becoming an all-out battle. “What did you find, Pixie?”
“Clever,” murmured Pixie. “Very clever.”
Figgy, with a final glare at Cookie, joined Pixie near the pile. “What’s clever?”
Pixie pointed. “See that string? Looks like fishing line. If you follow it from the cap of the bottle down to this pile, you can almost see the tiny trap door.”
Figgy, Cookie and Glitter peered closer at the middle of the pile.
“What do you think is inside?” asked Figgy.
“Nothing good,” grumbled Cookie.
Carefully, very, very carefully, Pixie lifted the small flap and peered inside. “It looks like…a whole bag of sugar!”
“Really?” asked Cookie skeptically.
“Yes, and she’s dyed it different colors. Almost like Christmas sprinkles.”
“Colored sugar!” shouted Figgy, and without stopping to consider, he dove straight for the door as if he were going for a swim.
“PLLLTTTHH!” Figgy surfaced spitting and wiping frantically at his tongue. “SALT! IT’S SALT!”
Cookie sighed. “I told you. She’s devious.”
Pixie pulled Figgy out of the trap and helped dust the salt off of him. Glitter pushed a shot of maple syrup and a sugar cube to him.
“Thanks,” he said gratefully. “How could she do that?” He looked sympathetically at Cookie and he gulped the syrup.
“Devious,” repeated Cookie.
Pixie met Glitter’s eyes and nodded. It was clear what needed to be done.
“Well,” started Pixie. “Clearly Casey Calloway is bored.”
“Bored?!” spluttered Cookie. “How can she be bored!? I haven’t even had the chance to do ANY of thing things I had planned. I’m too busy trying to escape from all of these horrendous traps she sets!”
“Trust us,” said Glitter. “With this sort of atrocious behavior, there is only one remedy.”
Cookie and Figgy looked expectantly at Glitter and Pixie.
“Games,” said Pixie.
“Obviously,” agreed Glitter.
“How do you figure that?” Figgy asked.
“Cookie, what were the other traps this season?”
“Oh let’s see,” said Cookie peevishly. “There was the little obstacle course she set up for me that ended in a mud bath. Then, there was the terrifying jack-in-the-box at the end of the race track she’d made. And, my personal favorite, sarcasm intended, the exploding bowling pin.”
“Exploding bowling pin?” asked Figgy.
“That’s right. She lured me in with what looked like an innocent game of bowling, but when my ball struck the pins, they exploded and rained down sticky goo. It took me ages to get it out of my hat.”
“But don’t you see, Cookie,” asked Glitter. “Casey loves games.”
Cookie stared incredulously at Glitter. “Games?”
“Yes,” added Pixie. “All we have to do is play along. We’ll start tonight and leave you with a list of other games to play with her.”
“Wait,” said Glitter, reaching into her harness. “I have an idea.”
She pulled out a box of Chessmen cookies. “Lets play a game!”
Figgy and Pixie eyed Glitter in awe. “So, you just…have those with you in case of…what? A game emergency?”
Glitter sniffed. “Well, you never know when you’ll have time for a quick game.”
Cookie smiled, willing to give the idea a try. “Ok, Knight to E4.”
a pinch of homestead 